Worcester's Pearl Street transforms

Click / tap on the photo to see present day view. (T&G Staff / PAUL KAPTEYN)

WORCESTER -- “Progress” in urban street design usually translates into amenities such as drive-through banking centers and multi-level parking garages, as the recent photograph of Pearl Street shows.

What a difference from this 1884 photo of the same stretch of roadway.

Gone, for example, are the 19th century buildings that once housed the local post office and the quarters for local Masons.

A good portion of the left side of the street is now taken up by a Commerce Bank drive-through and a parking lot. On the opposite side, a lighted parking sign beckons motorists who might be interested in using the municipal parking garage.

Two landmarks, however, remain fixtures.

At the top of the photo sits the former Chestnut Street Congregational Church.

The structure — modeled on Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris — was designed by noted Worcester architects Stephen Earle and Clellan Fisher.

The building was bought in 2004 by the evangelical Liberty Church. Congregants once again worship in the church and the building through the New England Dream Center, a spinoff of the church that hosts programs for youths and those who need help.

The historic Bull Mansion is just to the left of the church.

The Victorian gothic residence was designed by Calvert Vaux, a prominent New York City architect, and was sold in 1912 to the Grand Army of the Republic, an association of Civil War veterans.

Over the last couple of decades, there have been unsuccessful efforts to establish eateries in the building.

It was purchased earlier this year by the same nonprofit group that bought the Chestnut Street Congregational Church. The new owner was interested in establishing a culinary arts training center at the site.